Critical Thinking Is About Asking Better Questions

If you're facing a new challenge at work or was recently promoted and wish to bring a new perspective, you may need to embrace the power of critical thinking. It will help you break down an issue and be able to make an informed decision or the best solution. So, how do you harness the power of critical thinking?  

Hold your hypotheses loosely 

Your initial approach to a problem may be good but you shouldn't get too attached to it. You need to dig deeper and find ways to improve or refine it. Getting too attached to the initial answer may prevent you from seeing new ways to solve the problem at hand no matter what new data may suggest.  

Listen more than you talk 

If you want to formulate and as better questions you need to develop active listening skills. These skills will help you to understand what your audience is saying and keep you away from any premeditated questions naturally created by your brain. You need to show your audience that you care about their views.  

Leave your queries open-ended 

Ask questions that make your audience to open up and provide more information such questions will help you gain a deeper insight into their views and feelings, rather than asking closed YES/ No questions. Instead of "Do you like this place?" ask: "What do you like about this place?" 

Consider the counterintuitive 

You need to be brave enough enough to consider the counterintuitive. It's quite natural to relapse into groupthink and move away from the real issues when trying to solve problems. Look at questions that challenge the conventional way of thinking. 

Stew in a problem 

Try – as much as possible – not to make decisions too quickly. It's a rapid-fire world, but you may consider sleeping over the problem to formulate the best questions. Have a good night's rest and think about the situation again.  

Ask the hard follow-up questions 

It's easy to accept quick answers but they may not be enough to get the best out of your respondents. To foster critical thinking, you need a deeper follow-up inquiry. This isn't necessarily a litany of "whys", but insightful, thoughtful, and even hard questions, for a better understanding of the matter at hand. 

Critical thinking is a critical aspect of solving complex problems in an innovative way. This skill will help you tackle new roles and challenges and help you establish your position in an organization. Learning to ask the right questions will go a long way in cultivating critical thinking.  

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